Unlimited Adventure: Resetting the Sails
by Zane the Artist
Summary: Adopted from Gammatron's Unlimited Adventure fanfic, this reboot follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and Ketchum D. Ash, as they sail through trouble and turmoil to reach the Grand Line and their destinies. Features post-Unova Ash and original Grand Line Pokemon, as well as Spliced Devil Fruits and the Grand Line Pokemon League.
1. Chapter 1

**Gamma: Hey everyone! I've got another case of writer's block! You know what that means!**

**Kaze: (in a gentleman's outfit with top hat and cane) We get to see women's panties. Excuse me. (burps and farts)**

**Kyuubi: NO, YOU- Wait a minute. This all seems very familiar. Have we done this before?**

**Shinobi: I am having the strangest sense of déjà vu.**

**Dark: I agree.**

**Zane: (drinking calmly from a cup of tea) It's probably just your imagination. Don't worry about it.**

**Gamma: Oh, well that's just fine th- wait…**

**Everyone other than Zane: WHO THE HECK ARE YOU!?**

**Zane: Ah, right, I forgot to introduce myself to the audience. Greetings fanfic community, I am Zane the Artist, humble writer, artist, and partner to Gammatron in this reboot of his Unlimited Adventure fanfic. (sets down teacup and shines a flashlight under his face) Bear in mind, fans, that though we are transversing familiar waters, some aspects of our journey may change, while others stay their course. Heh, heh, heh…**

**Gamma: Huh. Ominous. Anyway, disclaimer time. Neither Zane nor Gammatron own the rights to either Pokemon or One Piece. If we did, Ash would've won the Indigo Plateau, and both Brook and Franky would appear earlier in the series.**

**Zane: And Ash wouldn't be eternally ten years old and screw with the show's perception of the passage of time, might I add. Please support the official releases of each.**

_Gold Roger, the Pirate King, had everything. Wealth, Fame, Power, all were his and could never be taken away from him. The final words anyone heard from him before his execution was this: "My fortune? Why, it's right where I left it. It's yours if you can find it…but you'll have to search the entire world! I left it all in One Piece." As he was beheaded, he turned his fading flame of light into a roaring blaze that would envelop the world. The world was about to enter…the Great Pirate Era…_

Chapter 1: The Fire-breathing Cyborg and the Gentleman Skeleton; a Meeting of Monsters in the Foggy Abyss

Though it was late into the day, the sun was forever hidden from this patch of ocean by a thick haze of fog. Hidden within this dark abyss was a lone, purple galleon, decaying from the strain of the ages and the tearing of the waves against its hull. The holes in the ship made excellent footholds for a short figure scaling the side of the ship to get out of the water. Once he reached the deck of the ship, he threw himself onto the floor and panted heavily.

Upon closer inspection, he was an oddity for sure, and not just because he was battered and bleeding. He had blue hair styled to look Elvis-like, and his only clothing was a Hawaiian shirt, torn beyond repair, and a pair of dark blue speedos.

"Just…hold on, Cutty," he muttered to himself, struggling to look around the ship while still flat on his back. Aside from the rotting wood, there were also numerous rusting weapons, such as swords, spears, and arrows, stabbed into the deck, like a battlefield from long ago. "There's…metal…and wood…this body…can't go on. But…I can build…a new one…a better one…brand new and SUPER!"

_Yohoho_

"Huh? Who's there?" Cutty roared out into the abyss of fog.

_My, my. How many years have gone by since we've seen another living creature? Although, given how injured you are, I used the term living quite loosely. To see another person after so long, though, it's enough to make my heart burst with joy._

The speedo lad's eyes widened in shock when he saw who was speaking and leaning over him. Dressed in black formal wear with orange lining and a blue ribbon tied between his neck and coat was a tall skeleton, carrying a purple cane on his arm and a saucer and teacup in his hands. Despite his lack of skin, he sported an abnormally large and bushy afro with a top hat atop it, and his skull had a crack shaped like a diagonal omega symbol.

"But I'm a skeleton, so I have no heart to burst! Yohohohoho! SKULL JOKE!" it laughed loudly. Whether it was from shock or blood loss, it was then that Cutty passed out. The gentleman skeleton stared at him for a second or two before saying, "Ah, I accidently frightened him." He then placed his index finger and thumb between his teeth and whistled, despite lacking lips.

It was then that two blobs of darkness emerged from the shadows, reshaping themselves into more definite forms. One looked like a ball of dark energy with a vampire-like face and its own haze of a lighter shade of purple than the fog. The other was gray and misshapen, with tiny points for arms, a third at the top of its head, and a cartoonish skull plate for a face. Shifting between the two eye sockets of the skull was a wavering red orb of light, and on the creature's back was a design that looked like a pair of bones.

"Sorry to end our game of hide-and-seek so prematurely, but this young man requires medical attention," the skeleton said to his ghostly companions. "Zuuta, please use Daydream to relieve him of his pain, then Mi, carry him to the bedroom so he may rest more comfortably while I treat his wounds."

The skull-faced ghost pointed its stubby arms at Cutty, and a ball of golden light, like the colors of the sun, formed between them. Cutty's body glowed with the same hue as he let out a slight groan, but remained unconscious, though his wounds were closing quite quickly. After the glow faded, the haze of the other ghost wrapped itself around him and lifted him off the ground. It carried him deeper into the ship while the other ghost followed and the skeleton watched before looking up at the tattered sails of the ship.

"I pray that the tides bring us safely to a town where we can treat this poor soul. Ah, excuse me," he stated solemnly, before ruining the moment by burping and farting, then following his Pokemon back into the ship.

**Zane: Keeping with Gammatron's request, Brook and Franky meet in this first chapter and will soon play an early part in the story. Well, see you next chapter, fans, and guys, nice to meet you. I look forward to joining your little commentaries and antics before and after each chapter.**

**Kaze: (still dressed as Brook) Nice to meet you, too.**

**Dark: Get out of those, or I'll bite you to death. (holds up a pair of tonfa)**

**Zane: I think I'll just step out for now and let you two sort this out on your own. Gamma, you wanna do the honors?**

**Gamma: Sure, be sure to review and give us your honest criticism. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to help Kyuubi pull those two apart.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors' Notes**

**Zane: Well, it was fun seeing Brook and Franky, but it's time we moved ahead in time to see Luffy and Ash's humble beginnings. Isn't that right, Gammatron?**

**GammaTron: Eeyup. Shall you handle the Disclaimer?**

**Zane: With gusto. Neither Gamma nor I claim ownership of One Piece and Pokemon. I know if I owned Pokemon, we'd be getting more complex villains like Team Plasma or actually menacing ones like Giovanni. Please support the official releases, now onto the show!**

**Chapter 1: "Dawn of a New Adventure; the Story of the Monkey and the Dragon"**

In a small region of land in the midst of the East Blue known as Kanto, there are many incredible towns and cities with their own stories and places of interest. Lavender Town has its Pokemon Tower, Celadon City has its Game Corner and department store, and even the smallest of humble towns had something that made it stand out. The small port town of Pallet Town, in this regard, was no exception, hosting the home and laboratory of the esteemed Pokémon expert, Professor Oak.

Of course, though, there are some things you can find in such a quiet, little town that the larger cities may lack. Things like kind-hearted people, clean air and pure water, even a few folks, like former thieves and bandits, looking to turn over a new leaf, and of course the occasional large pirate ship in the local port...wait, what was that last one?

Yes, you heard right. In the port of Pallet Town rested a bright red galleon sporting a jolly roger on its flag and sails, which just so happened to belong to a group known as the Akagami (Red Hair) Pirates. This gang of jolly rouges were not the type of pirate crew to plunder and pillage small towns like Pallet, but sought out adventure and freedom out on the open seas, occasionally returning to this port to restock and make merry after a particularly grand conquest. And it was on the steer-shaped figurehead of said pirates' ship that two young boys, one seven years old with short, black hair and a t-shirt saying "Anchor", the other six years old with slightly longer black hair that fanned out more at the sides and wearing a yellow t-shirt with a red stripe going over his right shoulder, stood.

"Today is the day we prove our bravery!" both announced as they each held a dagger high in the air, "Then you have to acknowledge how tough we are!"

The crew started chuckling at the boasts of the two kids, and a voice called out to the pair, "Well, if you're going to do something like that then do it already! Whatever it is..."

The one who called out to them, muttering the last bit to himself, was a red-haired man with a white, unbuttoned shirt, black pants, sandals, and a red sash around his waist. On his face, over his left eye, were three diagonal scars that looked like claw marks, and on his head was a straw hat with a red band. He then joined his crew in bemused laughter. Then, however, the two boys took their respective daggers and each made a cut underneath his left eye. The younger one even went so far as to add two additional cuts at the ends of the initial one to make his look like a lightning bolt.

"AAAAAHHH!" the crew screamed.

"OI! Luffy! Ash! What do you think you're doing?!" the red-haired pirate roared at the two.

"EEEEEEEYYYYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWW!" both of the boys cried out in pain.

A little later that day, in the local tavern, the pirate crew from earlier were drinking and celebrating after their latest voyage. Sitting at the bar was the straw hat wearing pirate from before, scolding the two boys, who were now sporting bandages over where they scarred themselves.

"A toast!" The man declared, raising a glass of grog, "To Luffy and Ash's…_courage_… And to our next voyage!"

"Har-Har-Har-Har! Drink up!" one declared with a laugh.

"Grog! Grog! Grog! More grog!"

"Oi! That's my meat!-!" one growled.

"Well too bad. I'm eating it," the other replied.

"Hey! Stop fighting!" the fattest of the men, wearing a green and white striped bandana and small shirt and white pants said, "You'll spoil our fun!"

"That didn't hurt at all," both boys stated, faking grins despite still being teary-eyed.

"Like hell it didn't!" Shanks yelled at them, his eyes white and teeth shark-like, "Honestly, your mother's going to put me out on the couch for the rest of our stay here because of this. Goodbye, sweet comfy guest bedroom mattress, and hello, back pain. And you, Ash," he added, pointing his now empty glass mug at the younger of the two, "What were you thinking adding two extra cuts to your scar? I thought you were the smarter one out of you two."

"Hey!" the older brother, Luffy, growled in annoyance.

"I just wanted to prove I was tougher than Luffy," Ash grumbled, resting his head on the table, "Plus, it looks cooler now."

Shanks sighed in exasperation before pouring himself another round from the bottle on the counter.

"So, Shanks," Luffy grinned, no longer forced, but genuine, "Now that we've proved ourselves, can we join your crew?"

"Yeah, can we?" Ash pleaded as well, his smile no longer forced either.

"Is that what this was about?" Shanks laughed, quickly downing half his glass, "Sorry, lads, but you're both still too young. The sea's a harsh and cruel mistress to those who are unprepared, as anyone in my crew can attest to. Ain't that right fellas?" The tavern's patrons let out a cheer of agreement before returning to their festivities, "See, boys? It's no place for kids. You can't even swim, Luffy, hence why we call you Anchor, and you aren't any better than him, Ash."

"So we just won't fall off the ship!" Luffy responded, his brother nodding in agreement.

"Yeah! And we're strong, too!" Ash added, jabbing the air a few times, "Luffy has a punch like a pistol and my jabs are faster than lightning!"

"A pistol and lightning, eh?" Shanks mused as he finished his drink, "Now don't that sound familiar, don't you two think so, Pichu, Chimchar?"

At Shank's words, two red and white spheres out of three opened and released beams of white light that landed on the counter table. The beams formed into two small creatures. The first was a yellow mouse that had diamond-shaped ears on the top of his head, with the edges being black and the interior yellow. Underneath the head was a black pattern, that somewhat resembled a collar. The tail was completely black, and resembled a small lightning bolt. He also had round, pink sacs on his cheeks. The other looked like a monkey. He had orange and peach fur. It's peach belly had a swirl on it with a tuff of orange hair on his head. He had big blue eyes and a tail made of flames.

"Pi-Pichu!" the yellow mouse agreed.

"Chimchar-Chim!" the orange chimp added, jabbing the air a couple times.

"Don't think you can steal these two's monikers so easily, kids," Shanks chuckled while the Chimchar pointed at Luffy before making a strong jab through the air while the Pichu pointed at Ash with its tail and let a few sparks loose, "Unless you think you can challenge them for 'em."

"What's that mean?!" both boys snapped at Shanks.

"He means you're both too much of a kid, Luffy, Ash!" the large one beamed, pausing to eat a bit of his large piece of meat on the bone.

"Seriously, you're as old as my own kid!" another member with the name 'Yasopp' written on his bandana added.

"Oi, oi, oi!" both barked.

"Aw, don't squash their dreams, Cap't!" one of the crewmates cheered.

"A pirate's life may be dangerous, but it's fun and full of freedom!" another added.

"Now don't go giving them any ideas," the red-haired captain replied, despite the fact the two already looked inspired.

"Come on, Cap't. Let 'em join us for our next voyage! Where's the harm?" a few more shouted out.

"Hey, you're not the ones whose necks are on the line if their mom hears they got hurt or worse," Shanks countered, "And besides, if you want them to join so bad, then two of you will have to stay behind..."

"Well sorry, Luffy and Ash!" the crewmates who defended them spoke up before turning back to their business of partying, "We gave it our best! You've just been beached! Let's drink!"

"Some friends you turned out to be!" the boys yelled, white-eyed and shark-toothed like Shanks had been moments ago.

"Ah, don't be so steamed," Shanks reassured to the two, "You're just too young, that's all. Give it another 10 or so years, and I'd be proud to call you 'pirates.'"

"We're not kids!" Luffy snapped.

"We're grownups!" Ash added.

"Calm down and have some juice," Shanks offered two small glasses of orange juice to the boys.

"Oh! Arigatou!" both cheered as they happily accepted the peace offering and drank their glasses quickly.

"Hahaha!" Shanks proceeded to laugh with tears in his eyes from the laughter, "See? I told you both you're just kids! No grown man worth his salt would drink juice!"

"You tricked us!" Luffy yelled.

"That was low, Shanks!" Ash added with equal fury.

"Ah, don't think so low of Captain Shanks, boys," a new voice chimed in, drawing the brother's attention to another crewman with tied back hair, smoking a cigarette, "He isn't trying to tease you or stand in the way of your ambitions. As the captain, he carries the lives of the entire crew on his shoulders and holds responsibility for them. He knows being pirates is fun and adventurous, but he also knows the danger in it. There's lots of duties like...pillaging, hostage-taking, heavy drinking...and swimming! Try to understand his feelings a bit more, 'kay?"

"I don't believe it," Luffy grumbled.

"Yeah, he just thinks we're stupid kids," Ash added, again sharing his brother's foul mood; Shanks's case wasn't helped by the fact that he had been snickering at them the whole time.

"And we even stabbed ourselves in the face so he'd take us with him," Luffy snorted.

"Captain, please don't tease the boys so much," a woman with short, pink hair held in a bandana and carrying a fresh barrel of grog out for her patrons added, getting help with a tiny pink and white Pokemon resembling an egg with a second barrel that should have been way too big for it.

"Come on, Makino," Shanks replied, "It's the joy of my life. Ho boy...I just love making fun of these two kids!"

"See?" the brothers said bitterly, pointing at Shanks, while the guy who spoke up for Shanks sweat-dropped.

_'Hmm...Maybe the laddies have got a point,' _he thought.

"Ash, Luffy, would you two like anything to eat?" Makino asked them kindly.

"Sure thing!" Luffy cheered. "Just put it on my treasure tab!"

"Luffy, don't try to cheat the poor woman," Shanks chided, Pichu nodding.

"Yeah, bro," Ash agreed, "That's just rude."

"I will pay it back," Luffy responded to the two, "After I become a famous pirate, I'll come back and pay my tab in full with all the treasure I find."

Makino placed two plates of steak before the two boys, and while Luffy started tearing into his, Ash lingered a bit before turning to Shanks.

"Shanks, how long are you going to be staying?" he asked.

"Hm, well it's been a year since we first used this town as a base," Shanks pondered, "So we'll probably leave after a few more voyages and head north. Why do you ask?"

"Shanks," Ash said proudly, "Luffy and I promise to be able to swim before you leave. Right, Luffy?"

The older brother's mouth was full so he just gave a few confirming grunts and nodded. Suddenly, the door was kicked open, halting the festivities, and several men with cloths wrapped around the tops of their heads and waists entered, brandishing sabers on their sides and smirks on their faces. They parted down the middle to allow another figure in different clothes than them to walk up to the counter. He wore a brown coat instead of a cloth waistband and didn't wrap his head with it either, making his black, pony-tailed hair clear to all. He had a scruffy goatee and a cross(x)-shaped scar above his eye, but his most prominent feature was the almost drunken grin on his face and dead look of his eyes that one would see in those of a remorseless killer.

"Make way for the Scourge of the Mountains!" the man declared as he looked around, "Heh-heh...So you call yourselves Pirates, eh?" the man grumbled loud enough to be heard by all, "My first time seeing them and just from a first glance, they give a bad impression. Barkeep! Bring my men and me ten bottles of booze! We may be bandits, but we won't start anything if you do that."

"My apologies, sir," Makino replied nervously, the egg creature hiding behind her leg in fear, while still carrying the barrel, "But I'm afraid we ran out of alcohol a little while ago."

"No booze?" the man questioned, glancing around the bar. "Hmm... That's strange. Then what are these sea dogs drowning themselves in? Fruit punch?" It was around now that Luffy and Ash finished their steaks and each found a fruit to eat for dessert.

"It's true...I just served the last of it," Makino admitted.

"Oh, sorry, buddy. I feel kinda guilty...," Shanks said sympathetically, "I guess we drank all the grog already." he offered a bottle of alcohol to him, still unopened, "Here, though, we haven't touched this one yet. Why don't you have this?"

"..."

Rather than take the bottle, though, the man simply and swiftly drew the sword from his side and slashed the bottle to pieces, covering the ground and Shanks in sake and glass shards. Makino and the boys were shocked, while Shanks' crew just eyed the scene warily. He then took a sheet of paper with a picture of him from his coat and slammed it on the table.

"What do you take me for?! You can't make a fool of me! What good is one bottle of grog?!" he roared at the captain.

"Oh my...What a mess," Shanks noted, Pichu's ears lowering as Chimchar slumped a little.

"Look at this," the man continued as he showed a wanted poster, "I am Higuma 'the Bear,' leader of the mountain bandits in this area and a killer of 56 people. I've got an 8,000,000 berri bounty on my head and I refuse to be patronized by no account sea scum like you pirates! If you're smart, you'll sail away from here so I never see you again."

"Sorry about this mess, Makino. Give me, Pichu, and Chimchar a rag and we'll clean it up," Shanks pitied, ignoring Higuma's boast and grabbing a cloth to wipe up the glass and spilled drink with, Pichu and Chimchar having another rag to wipe the grog.

"Uh...D-Don't worry about it," Makino nervously assured.

Higuma, obviously ticked by this, made a second slash that broke the remaining bottles on the counter, spilling their contents on the pirate captain.

"So you like to clean? If you like cleaning so much, then here's a whole days worth for you to do," Higuma turned back to the door and his bandits followed, chuckling at the actions of their leader, "Let's go. The sight of these pansies made me lose my thirst." before he left, he added one last insult, "Farewell...cowards."

"Oh my...Captain, are you okay?" Makino asked as she quickly got there, "Are you hurt? Do you need Happiny use Refresh or Recover on your Pokemon?"

"I'm fine. No harm done," Shanks replied before the crew began to start laughing, Shanks and his two creatures included.

"Har-har-har-har! Cap'n!" the tubby one laughed.

"He got you three good!" Yasopp added.

"They really made you look like the fool!" one more added while Shanks joined his men in laughing as well, but Ash and Luffy were not as amused.

"What was all that?!" Luffy roared angrily. "So what if they had more men or that guy had a bounty?! You still should've stood up to him!"

"Huh?" Shanks pondered.

"He made you look like a weakling!-!-! Why didn't you fight him?!"

"Gramps was right!" Ash added, "You're a pathetic excuse for a man and a pirate!"

"Now, now, boys," Shanks replied calmly, "No use crying over spilled grog and all." Pichu and Chimchar hopped on his shoulder, "When you've grow up, you'll understand, kiddos. He just got some grog on my, that's all Needless killing doesn't make you a man."

"Come on, Ash," Luffy called to his brother as he turned towards the entrance. "Let's go find a real role model."

"Aw, don't go," Shanks pleaded, grabbing Luffy's wrist.

However, as Luffy continued to walk away, his arm stretched like elastic, shocking the crew, Shanks, Ash, and Makino. Those drinking proceeded to spit them into the air as the eyes of others popped out comically with dropped jaws.

"His arm's stretching!-!-!" Shanks exclaimed between clenched teeth, "Does this mean...Did he..."

"He couldn't have!" a crewman gasped.

"B-Bro...!" Ash gawked.

"GAAAAH! What's happened to me?!" Luffy cried out in shock.

"No way!" the fat man exclaimed as he looked at an empty treasure chest, "They're not here!-!"

"Huh?!" some crewmen exclaimed as they looked at him.

"The two Akuma no Mi (Devil Fruit) we took from that Navy ship!-!-!" he exclaimed before turning to Luffy and Ash, showing them a pair of fruits; one a circular, purple fruit and the other a grape-shaped, black fruit that both had swirls decorating them, "Luffy, you didn't eat a fruit that was in a chest and looked like this, did you?!"

"Yeah...! I ate that purple one for dessert!-! And Ash had the one next to it," Luffy responded, a sweat breaking out on him.

"It tasted awful," Ash confirmed, before being grabbed by Shanks by the legs and shook upside-down.

"You dolts! Cough them both up right now!"

"Shanks, stop it! I'm going to…urg!" Ash pleaded as he started feeling queasy.

But instead of coughing up his lunch, a ball of fire shot out of his mouth and onto the floor. Shanks dropped him and stamped out the blaze before it could spread to the alcohol on the floor. He turned, grabbed the sides of their faces, brought them together, and pulled them to his face.

"You two idiots ate Devil Fruits, the legendary Akuma no Mi!" Shanks yelled at the brothers, "The Gomu-Gomu no Mi (Gum-Gum Fruit) and a rare Spliced Devil Fruit! Now you're made of rubber, Luffy, and Ash, you're…" he paused for a moment to try to think, "...honestly I'm not entirely sure what you are now, but you just breathed fire and that's not good! Plus, those who eat Devil Fruits are cursed to never swim again!"

"WHAAAAAAAAAT?!" Luffy screamed.

"AAARGH!-!" Ash screeched.

"PICHU! PICHU!"

"CHIM! CHIMCHAR!"

"You IDIOTS!-!-!-!" Shanks roared, "God fuckin' dammit!"

"...Shanks, you just said the 'F' word," Makino informed, making Shanks freeze, "And it was directly in front of Ash and Luffy. You know what I have to do now."

"Oh no...Oh no...Oh no-ohnoohnoohnoohno...!-!-!" Shanks began to sweat heavily and shake uncontrollably.

"I need to tell Delia about this."

Later that night, Shanks sniffled as he in a dog house. His face was covered in multiple welts, wounds, cuts, and bruises with five bars of soap in his mouth. But what really made it all the more stunning and fearful to see was the massive bump on his head with the words 'Ignore the stupid dog and his bad mouth. Delia Ketchum.'

Sometime later, Ash and Luffy were walking with their mother, Ketchum Delia, to the laboratory of local Pokemon expert and scientist, Professor Oak. Their mother was a lovely sight to look at with a shapely figure akin to a model's. She wore a pink skirt and open short-sleeved jacket over a yellow shirt that hugged her upper figure nicely. Her gently red hair was done in a small ponytail. After Ash and Luffy ate their respective Devil Fruits, they went to visit the professor to find out all they could about their new powers, and today he had invited the three over to finally tell them all he learned.

"Now I want you both to be on your best behavior today," Delia lectured her kids, "No scaring Professor Oak's Pokémon with rubber powers or fireballs, understand?"

"Kaa-chan(Mom)~! That only happened once," Ash whined, "and those Nidorinos were bullying the new starter pokemon."

"Be that as it may, you nearly started a stampede," she countered, "And I'm sure you two wouldn't want to have to repair the corral gate again, right?"

"Hai, Kaa-chan..." both sighed dejectedly.

After a bit more walking, they saw the elderly expert waiting for them at his gate, a smile on his face signifying good news. His brown hair was still visible near the roots of his hair while his somewhat tanned skin was showing wrinkles. He wore a red vest over a white shirt, brown pants, and under a lab coat.

"Delia, Ash, Luffy, how are you all?" he greeted.

"Very good, Professor," Delia answered with a similar smile on her face. "So what did you learn about my boys' new powers?"

"Well," Oak began, holding up a couple sheets of research data, "Luffy's powers seem simple enough to understand, mainly stretching, being unaffected by impacts, and being invulnerable to electricity, which I learned thanks to his constant teasing of a local Electabuzz." That last note earned Luffy a scolding look from his mother.

"Ash's powers have been a much more difficult puzzle to decipher, however," Oak continued, flipping through his papers as he spoke, "due to how rare Spliced Devil Fruits and common knowledge of them are. However, after going over some notes written by Dr. Vegapunk on the subject, I've managed to find out quite a lot."

"Oh?" Delia asked as Ash and Luffy leaned in a little.

"For starters, Ash's power is that of a Zoan type Ryuu-Ryuu no Mi (Dragon-Dragon Fruit) cross-pollinated with a Logia type Gemu-Gemu no Mi (Gem-Gem-Fruit), making a Dragon-Gem hybrid human out of Ash."

"Logia?" Luffy pondered.

"Zoan?" Ash wondered.

"Well, I suppose I should start from the beginning, then," Oak explained.

He took one of his papers from his bundle and showed it to the boys. It was mostly notes and equations that they didn't understand, but in the middle of the paper was a large diagram of three circles, one red, one yellow, and one blue, arranged in a triangle shape.

"First," Oak stated, pointing to the red circle, "are Paramythia type Devil Fruits, like Luffy's Gomu-Gomu no Mi powers. These ones are the most common types, giving whoever eats one abilities and, for lack of a better word, superpowers. Super strength, flying, and even stretching like rubber, in Luffy's case, all fall under this category."

"Wow, bro!" Ash beamed, awestruck. "You're like a super hero!"

"Your powers are just as amazing, Ash," oak continued, pointing at the yellow circle now. "Half of your powers are Zoan type abilities, which let their user turn into animals and human-animal hybrids, like birds and jungle cats. Or in your case, a dragon."

"Woaaaaah!" Luffy awed at his brother this time. "You can turn into an amazing dragon! That's awesome!"

"Unfortunately, though," Oak added, "because your powers come from a Spliced Akuma no Mi, their effects are diluted somewhat, meaning you can only access half the full power of the original fruits your powers came from. In short, you can't fully turn into a dragon, at least not this early in your life, but you can still turn into a hybrid form. Though again, this early you can't access your full half-form, only forming wings and a tail for now, in addition to your fire-breathing ability."

"Well that's still cool!" Ash cheered, his excitement undeterred. "What's the third one?"

"Ah, yes," Oak pointed at the last circle, the blue one, this time. "The last type is the Logia type, the other half of your powers. Basically, it lets you transform into and manipulate a certain element or substance, like rocks or fire, found in the natural world. Since you have a Logia type power related to gems and rare stones, you can transform your body into them and even absorb them to regenerate from damage."

"Whoa~!" Ash awed, his thoughts going to all the food he could buy, while Luffy was drooling a river at the thought of all the meat they could get from just one of Ash's pinkies.

"However, like how your Zoan powers are diluted, your Logia abilities are limited as well. You cannot freely manipulate without contact or generate gemstones, and the energy it would take in transforming into them would be incredibly draining."

"Aw, that's so unfair," Ash whined as Luffy fell over, his thoughts of meat ending, "There are so many rules. Why doesn't Luffy-Niisan have to go through all this?"

"It's the price one pays for various Devil Fruit abilities, I suppose," Oak answered, placing his paper back among his notes. "Quantity over quality and all that. I can't say whether or not these limits won't fade or grow with time since this isn't my field of expertise, but I know that you're resourceful enough to deal with them."

"Well, this has been rather informative," Delia spoke up, "but are there any dangers in their powers?"

"Not as far as I know," Oak replied, "Aside from either no longer being able to swim, there aren't any visible health risks or side effects. Their new powers shouldn't hinder them in any way in their natural lives, so long as they keep life-jackets handy when they go to the beach."

Luffy yawned, growing bored with all this talking and decided to turn around and go home.

"Luffy, don't you dare leave without thanking Professor Oak for taking the time to research your powers!" Delia scolded her eldest son.

Luffy grumbled before turning back to Oak and bowing politely, "Thank you very much, Professor Oak. Have a nice day."

"What he said," Ash added, bowing politely like his brother.

"Any time, boys," Oak replied with a smile.

"You can go home now, Luffy," Delia stated to Luffy, who with her allowance turned to leave again, but was stopped when Ash called out his name.

"Luffy-Niisan, wait! I just had a great idea!" The younger brother started focusing as hard as he could, and surely but slowly, his Zoan powers activated and a pair of wings and a tail grew from his back.

"Woah~!-!-!" Luffy awed.

Ash then manipulated his new tail as best as he could to wrap it around his brother's waist. With a few tries started flapping his wings and lifted them both off the ground.

"Don't worry, Kaa-san," he called out as he started flying his brother towards their house, "I'll take Luffy home. Promise not to drop him!"

"Ash, be careful!" Delia responded, slightly frizzed by that last comment, then sighed in exasperation after they were already out of sight, "I just had to have two sons as reckless as their father..."

Oak just chuckled, amused by the whole situation, "Don't fret too much, dear. Even if Ash does drop him by accident, Luffy's made of rubber, so he probably wouldn't get hurt anyway."

Somehow, that didn't relieve her as much as he thought it would.

As the pair was flying over town, they noticed that the mountain bandits from before were walking into the tavern again. Deciding to investigate, they landed near the doorway (The two ending up flat on their faces since no one could get the landing just right the first time flying) and listened out of sight.

"Well, looks like the pirates are away today," Higuma laughed as he took a seat and threw his feet up on the table, "I'd say that would make this dump almost tolerable. Almost. Serving wench, bring us our booze this time! Or did those dirty sea monkeys drink it all again when we weren't looking?"

This earned a laugh from his brood, but Luffy was looking rather steamed as his grip on the door frame tightened. Ash wasn't aware of his fingernails turning into claws as he dug them into the door frame as well.

"Seriously," he continued, "Pirates are freaking pathetic! Who goes out to sea to plunder when you can do it here on dry land? Though I really shouldn't blame them, since those cowards might run into someone like me if they didn't sail away with their tail between their legs! I mean, you all saw what's-his-name with the straw hat, right? He likes clean things, eh? Well next time I see that barnacle, I'll clean his clock! Ahahaha!"

"Take that back, you bastard!" Luffy roared as he charged at Higuma.

The mountain bandit, hearing Luffy's war cry, swung his foot off the table and into the side of the rubber boy's head knocking him to the other side of the room. Luffy was unharmed, but he froze when he saw Higuma had drawn his sword and looked pissed.

"What your tongue, brat," he sneered, raising the sword as he walked towards Luffy, "I've killed stronger men than you for doing less than saying an unkind word, and unlike your pathetic pirate friend, I'm not as thick-skinned when it comes to insults."

Higuma was just about to deliver the final blow when Ash flew in the way, blocking the sword with his now diamond-coated forearms before the force threw him into his brother.

"Ash!" Luffy and Makino cried out.

Makino quickly rushed out of the tavern to find help, and Ash groaned as he gave his brother a thumbs up.

"I'm fine, Luffy. But the Professor was right when he said that gem power would drain my energy. I can barely move now," Ash informed.

"Well, well," Higuma smirked, sheathing his sword and reaching into the inside of his coat.

He pulled out two red and white spheres like the ones that held Chimchar and Pichu, but the creatures that emerged from these ones were anything but as cute the two. These looked like man-sized preying mantises with dragon-like faces, two legs, bug wings, and scythes for hands, and they seemed just as cruel as their master.

"Scy! Scyther!" Both roared, crossing their blades before pointing them at the two petrified kids.

"I thought that washed-up wimp was just playing babysitter," Higuma sneered darkly, "But I guess you both are more interesting than I thought."

"Luffy! Ash!" Delia cried out.

Makino had found her, Oak, and the mayor of the town and brought them all back to the tavern. Outside, Higuma had his foot on a struggling Luffy, while the two Scythers had their blades raised to Ash's neck in case he tried anything, though he was still too weak anyway. The rest of the bandits formed a semicircle around the scene to keep any particularly brave towns folk from interfering.

"Please! Enough of this!" the mayor begged, getting on his hands and knees and lowering his head. "I don't know what those children did, but if you let them go, I will pay any amount of money."

"Ah," Higuma smiled sinisterly, "Of course it's the elderly that know how to deal with this situation. But I'm sad to say the damage is done and what's been said can't be taken back. Besides, the money I could make selling this little, rubber freak to a circus is probably more than you can offer. And the other one? He's made out of freaking gemstones! I can take his brother's share of the retribution out of his hide and sell him off piece by piece afterword."

"Don't you dare hurt my boys!" Delia shouted angrily, some the bandits moving around her, Makino, and Oak to keep them from interfering.

"Now then, rubber boy," Higuma sneered, putting his hand on the hilt of his saber, "you have one more chance. Apologize for ticking me off and I may just find it in my heart to sell you as undamaged goods."

"Screw you," Luffy groaned as he continued struggling, "Take back what you said about Shanks and pirates. They're a hundred times stronger than you pansy ass mountain bandits!"

"Luffy!" Ash cried out as Higuma's smile faded instantly, replaced by a cold, merciless glare.

"On second thought," he spoke, drawing his sword again, "Forget selling you to the freak show. I'm just going to make you number 57 on my kill count, brat."

"So, this is why no one was waiting for us at the harbor..." a familiar voice noted.

Everyone turned to see that, right behind Delia's group were Shanks and his crew! Chimchar and Pichu sat on their master's shoulders like before but, unlike before, had pure rage on their faces.

"Hey, you guys were the bandits from the other day," Shanks noted.

"Captain!-!" Makino gasped as her Happiny cheered.

"What's wrong, lads?" Shanks asked the two, "I though you both had punches like a pistol and lightning?"

"This is no laughing matter, Shanks," Oak advised, concerned about the situation, "They're both in serious danger."

"Well, looks like the town cleaning crew has returned," Higuma said darkly, pointing his sword at the captain, "And here I thought my mood couldn't get any fouler. Go find some gum wrappers to throw in the trash can or sweep the streets, because we mountain bandits are at the end of some bad negotiating and feel like opening fire on anyone who tries to mess with us."

To accentuate his leader's point, one of the bandits drew a pistol and held it up to Shanks' head. Shanks raised his hand slightly so Pichu could jump out of the line of fire and into his palm. The red-haired man kept a calm look on his face despite the pistol aimed at his head.

"Well, since you pulled out your gun, I guess we'll have to fight," Shanks noted.

"Huh!? What'd you say?!" the man demanded.

"I'm saying it's not safe to point guns," Shanks replied, "You don't use these to scare people..."

BANG!

The portly member of the Akagami Pirates ripped a part of his meat on a bone with his teeth in time with the man collapsing to the ground, his life extinguished. Everyone stared at the sight in shock as the man put his pistol away as he swallowed the chewed meat in his mouth, comletely ignoring the small pool of blood forming where the bullet entered the man's skull and exited out of the other side.

"What the?!" one of the bandits called out.

"N...Now you've done it, you bastard!" another shouted.

"That wasn't fair at all!" added another, "It was downright dirty!"

"Fair?" the smoking crewmate from before asked. "What do you think we are, boy scouts? We're not, nor are we saints."

"We're pirates," Shanks punctuated.

"...Shut up!-! This is none of your business!" one bandit shouted.

"Now listen well, Higuma and your unjolly bunch. You bandits can steal my food and drink, you can whip me with food and drink, call me the worst names you can think of...even kill me and spit on my grave! I'll just laugh it off! ...But!-!" the bandits tensed as Shanks's usual look in his eyes of carefree joy dissipated and was replaced by a glare far colder and crueler than Higuma's, the iris in his eye turning into a pin-sized dot with a ring around it, "I don't care what reasons you have!-! I won't forgive anyone who harms my friends!-!-!-!"

"Shanks..." Luffy whispered.

"C...Cap'n..." Ash softly awed as Higuma began to laugh.

"Heh heh heh," Higuma chuckled, his sneered returned, "'Won't forgive me?!' What a crock! You, a bunch of pirates who float around on a ship all day, want to challenge us?!-!-!" he pointed at them in his laughter, "I'm not even going to waste my manpower to destroy you! Hack! Slash! Cut these fools to ribbons!"

The two Scythers pulled their blades away from Ash's neck and charged at Shanks. Rather than try to fight or dodge, Shanks merely nodded his head, signaling his Pokemon to attack. Pichu let out a bolt of lightning and Chimchar bellowed out a wave of flames, both attacks instantly frying the two bug pokemon. The Scythers collapsed, singed and unconscious. The bandits, even Higuma, were dumbfounded.

"Okay," Higuma admitted, a hint of nervousness in his voice now, "So maybe you're a better trainer than you are a janitor. But I still have the superior manpower, and they're going to do what Hack and Slash couldn't! Attack!"

The bandits turned away from the townsfolk and charged at the pirate crew. Chimchar and Pichu were already charging up their next attacks, but the smoker walked in front of them with a long gun slung over his shoulder.

"I'll handle this, guys," he said, taking his cigar and jabbing it into the face of the nearest bandit.

Pichu's sparks fizzled out and Chimchar's flame died back down to a light simmer before the two returned to they're places on the captain's shoulders. The crewmate then took the gun and, rather than start shooting it, swung it into any bandits who came near him like a club, which he continued to do with each new enemy. In almost no time at all, the street was littered with beaten and groaning bandits, and Higuma stood alone, legs shaking, as he stared down an angry mob of a town and a powerful pirate crew, all on his own.

"Don't underestimate us," the smoker stated calmly, replacing the cigarette he had discarded while aiming the gun correctly at Higuma, "The next time you want to challenge pirates, you'd better bring one hell of a battleship with you or get the Marines to back you up."

"...Sugei..." Ash and Luffy awed.

"Amazing..." Delia and Makino whispered as Oak and the mayor tried to correct their dropped jaws.

"H-hey, come on," Higuma sweated as he dropped his sword and held his hands up in front of himself. "W-we can just forget about all this, right? I forgive the bra- l-little angel for making fun of me, so all's okay and dandy, right?"

"Sorry, pal," Shanks said, "But you still have to pay for what you've done. Now if I remember right, that bounty on your head was for 8 million belli, right? Was that for dead or alive?"

Higuma, sensing he couldn't talk his way out of this, in the blink of an eye, scooped but Luffy and Ash, then reached into his coat again and pulled out a third sphere. It released its light that formed into a larger half red and half white sphere, but with the added feature of a pair of glaring eyes.

"Voltorb! Selfdestruct, now!" Higuma yelled before tossing the spherical Pokemon in the air.

It sparked like Pichu, but exploded instead of releasing lightning, creating a large smokescreen over the area. When the smoke cleared, Luffy, Ash, and Higuma were gone, but his men and three pokemon remained unconscious on the ground. Shanks screamed as he put his hands on the sides of his head.

"Damn him! We got careless!-!-! They took Luffy and Ash!-! What do we do, Lucky Roo?!" Shanks freaked at the tubby man.

"Captain!-! Don't panic!-!" the man informed before the smoker pulled Shanks to the side.

"Listen to him, captain. We need to find those two quick or else..." he trailed off at that, discreetly motioning to the trembling Delia.

"...Benn...You're right," Shanks gulped before slapping himself twice across the face before facing his men, "Search the town, men! He couldn't have gotten too far!-! Remember; our buddies are on the line and we do not want to deal with Delia's wrath!"

_'You're the one who doesn't want to face her wrath...'_ his crew thought as they went to search with gusto.

Not far from the shore of the town's harbor, Higuma was catching his breath in a small boat on the water with Luffy and a still weakened Ash on board.

"Hah, stupid sea dogs," he gloated. "Who needs a battleship when all I need is an escape boat?"

"Let us go!" Luffy yelled angrily, trying to punch his kidnapper.

Higuma simply punted him out of the boat and into the sea.

"Luffy!" Ash yelled before he too was tossed into the sea.

"Good riddance," the bandit sneered as he watched the two brothers struggle in a useless attempt to stay afloat.

However, a large shadow fell over the bandit as something big broke through the surface of the water. He looked up and saw that the shadow was cast by what looked like a blue hybrid of a ferocious sea serpent and a Chinese dragon, with a large, three-pointed crest on its forehead and a gaping mouth. Higuma didn't even get a chance to scream before it crashed headfirst through the boat, swallowing the bandit in one bite on its way down. After its dive, it resurfaced and turned towards the struggling brothers, looking at them the same way it looked at Higuma: hungrily.

The boys would have screamed if their lungs weren't filling with water as the creature charged swam towards the pair with its mouth wide open. They closed their eyes and waited for the end, but when they heard a loud "chomp", they opened their eyes to see, not their maker, but Shanks with his right arm swung over some driftwood from the destroyed boat. They quickly grabbed onto the plank of wood and held on with all their strength, but the monster was swimming back around to finish them off.

"Get lost," Shanks ordered, his eyes regaining the strange ring and dot look in them.

The monster skidded to a halt in its charged and stared perplexed into the captains menacing eyes. After a second or two, the creature realized why it had stopped its charge: it felt fear. Anything that could make it feel fear was something to avoid. It quickly turned and swam back into the deep, leaving the three to float in peace.

"Luffy," Shanks said kindly, his glare returning to a more grateful expression, "Makino told me how you stood up for me, so thanks. And Ash, good job protecting your brother." Despite their lives being saved, the two still wept loudly, "Oh, c'mon lads, don't cry!"

"B-but Shanks," Luffy stuttered between tears, "Y...Your arm!-!-!"

True enough, what was once the captain's left arm was merely a bleeding stub of the shoulder. Shanks's smile betrayed the notion he was upset or in pain.

"An arm is a fair price to pay for saving the two of you," Shanks replied, comforting the lads.

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!-!-!-!-!" the two boys wailed loudly.

"You're really leaving for good, Shanks?" Ash asked.

About half the day or so had past since Shanks' saved Ash and Luffy's lives, and when he returned to shore on a board of driftwood with the kids in tow and his arm missing, needless to say everyone was surprised. Almost immediately, Shanks was put at the top priority in getting treated. Now, the boys were saying their final goodbyes to their role model before he and his crew would leave for their next adventure.

"I'm afraid so," Shanks responded, a black cape slung over the shoulder of his missing left arm, "We've been using this town as a base for too long and we may have attracted an Admiral or worse: your grandpa again. It's time to find our next voyage. You two upset?"

"No, we're fine," Ash said.

"We won't make you take us with you," Luffy added, "Because we'll become pirates on our own."

"Hah! I wouldn't take you two even if you begged me. Like you two could be pirates. You can't even swim!-!-!-!" Shanks teased.

"We don't need to be!-!" Luffy shouted, "Ash can fly, so we won't fall off into the sea again!-!-!"

"Yeah! We'll get a bigger and stronger crew than yours and a better ship, too!" Ash chimed in.

"And we'll find the greatest treasure in the world and I'll be the Pirate King!"

"And I'll be Pirate Champion!"

"Oh...!-! The king and champion of Pirates, eh?" Shanks chuckled before he took the straw hat from his head and put it on Luffy's head, "Good answer. Well then...Do me a favor...Keep this hat safe for me, Luffy? It's my greatest treasure, and you can return it when you become as strong a pirate captain as me." Though Luffy didn't want to show it, tears were trickling down his face, as was Ash's.

"And that's not all," he continued. He took two of his three Pokeballs from his sash and released Chimchar and Pichu before handing the spheres to them both. "I wanted to give these two to you at the harbor when I arrived, but given today's events, better late than never. Now you two look after these little rascals for me. They may be stubborn and a little arrogant, but they have good hearts and plenty of potential."

"We'll take good care of them," Ash beamed, Pichu leaping up onto his shoulder like it did with Shanks while Chimchar went to Luffy.

"Actually," Shanks chuckled, "I was talking to Pichu and Chimchar."

The two basic level pokemon were a bit teary-eyed as well as they waved goodbye to their old master. He turned to his ship. He walked past Delia, the woman giving Luck Roo and Yasopp some baskets.

"Your kids will be great," Shanks informed.

"Of course they'll be great. They have a great role model, after all," Delia replied.

"I'll give your little gecko of a husband the message," Shanks informed.

"You know he hates geckos," Delia giggled as Shanks walked on, going past his first mate Benn.

"Those kids are gonna make something of themselves," he noted.

"Yeah...They both act just like I did when I was a kid," Shanks chuckled before shouting aloud, "Weight the anchor! Raise the sails! We're off with the tide! And Delia, tease your old man-in-law for me when he comes!"

With that, Shanks sailed off with his crew, inspiring the two lads to become great pirates and the strongest of their generation. With the gift of a straw hat and two Pokemon, the legacy of our heroes can now begin, a mere ten years later.

**Zane: Well, this chapter was a tale and a half, wasn't it? Next time, we see how the brothers are after a few years of training, and the long awaited arrival of Franky and Brook. Any final thoughts, Gamma?**

**GammaTron: Yes. Why are you using the english-translation stuff? I like the Japanese way of naming the Akuma no Mi. Makes things easier to say than 'Human-Human Fruit' and 'Bubble Bubble Fruit.' Plus, there are a few puns that are only really understood if you use the original Japanese. Suck as someone with the 'Kama-Kama no Mi' being called an 'Okama Person.' *chuckles* Get it? Since 'Kama' means 'Sickle' and 'Okama' is 'Man-Lady.' I just find it more humorous than 'sicko-sicko' being confused with 'sickle-sickle.' Not as much of a button pusher...no offense to any Okama people out there, mind you.**

**Zane: Funnier, yes. But when you're making original Devil Fruits, you sometimes have to make that sacrifice if you can't find the translation to the name you want or the joke doesn't carry over as well. Still though, you make a good point, so we'll stick with this style of Japanese names with English translations. Keep a lookout for more of these, fans, as we can guarantee at least one or two next time!**


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